K-pop Agency Initiates Legal Measures to Protect Artists from Online Harassment

Courtesy of HYBE's website

In a news release on Friday, K-pop agency HYBE outlined legal actions against individuals engaging in malicious activities towards 10 of its artists on the Weverse app. The artists, affiliated with six of HYBE's labels, include BTS, Tomorrow X Together, Seventeen, Baekho, Hwang Min-hyun, fromis_9, Enhypen, Le Sserafim, NewJeans, and &Team.

The accusations against these individuals involve ill-intentioned posting, privacy violations, impersonation, damaging comments during livestreams, and leaking personal information of the artists. HYBE emphasized a commitment to protecting the artists' rights and interests, citing potential negative impacts on the mental state of the artists. 

▲ Courtesy of HYBE's websiteThe company regularly pursues legal action against individuals suspected of threatening its artists through defamation, personal attacks, sexual harassment, the spread of false information, and ill-intentioned criticism. HYBE encourages fans to report malicious posts on its platforms and actively monitors social media channels, collecting evidence of wrongdoing, including deleted malicious posts.

In the second half of 2023, HYBE reported an increase in new complaints related to malicious acts towards Tomorrow X Together compared to the first half of the year. The agency highlighted ongoing criminal punishments for malicious commenters.

HYBE issued a strong warning against privacy violations, adopting a zero-tolerance policy towards individuals infringing on the artists' privacy. The agency cited a specific case where criminal complaints were filed against an individual for violating the Act on Punishment of Crime of Stalking. The individual had sent mail and packages to a member's house, causing damage to their family. Criminal penalties were imposed following a prosecution investigation.

HYBE emphasized the need for eliminating problematic and malicious comments for the future growth of K-pop as an industrial ecosystem.

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